Sally Piri – Golkar Party leaders remain at odds with one another over whether or not the party should nominate its own presidential candidate, with senior party members exchanging barbs once again on Wednesday.

Muladi, a member of Golkar's central board, said on Wednesday that Golkar could indeed remain in a coalition with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party. His comments, however, came just a day after the manager of Golkar's campaign team, Burhanuddin Napitupulu, said the coalition between the two parties was as good as over.

"Burnap is not consistent in what he says," sniped Muladi, referring to Burhanuddin Napitupulu. "It's meaningless."

Far from being at the end of their run together, the coalition may very well have its best days ahead, Muladi said after attending the launching of the Indonesian Defense University at the State Palace.

"It's still open," Muladi said of the chances of the two parties sticking together. "The coalition between the Democratic Party and Golkar can move into a new era of opportunity," Muladi said.

Echoing the refrain of many party leaders, he said Golkar's decision regarding who to nominate as its presidential candidate would have to wait for the party's special national leaders' meeting held after the legislative elections on April 9.

Golkar chairman, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, has repeatedly voiced his willingness to split from Yudhoyono and run for president himself.

Muladi, however, claimed that hardly constituted the party's final word on the matter, saying Golkar was continuing to solicit input from regional and local party members regarding their preferences as to whom Golkar should nominate. He added that while many representatives from the party's regional branches had voiced their support for a Kalla presidential bid, the party's district branches also deserved a hearing.

"Now people may only focus on SBY-JK, but in the future it might be SBY and someone else," he said referring to Yudhoyono and Kalla. He added that Yudhoyono could pair with anyone from Golkar, specifically mentioning House of Representatives Chairman Agung Laksono and erstwhile party chief Akbar Tandjung as potential candidates to round out a Yudhoyono ticket.

Lest his own views not be clear enough, Muladi offered that he personally would prefer the Golkar and the Democratic Party coalition holds through the July presidential election, citing their shared ideologies and programs for developing the country.

Separately, senior Democratic Party figure and presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said that Burhanuddin's remarks about the end of the Democrat-Golkar era did not represent the views of all Golkar members. Andi stressed that the two parties may very well stick together. And regardless of what happens on April 9, Yudhoyono and Kalla would honor their commitment to serve out their current term, which ends in October, he said.

The Yudhoyono-Kalla ticket took home more than 60 percent of the votes in the 2004 run-off presidential election.